Time has Intervened
by 823freckles
Summary: He traces his fingers over a scar on her lower back. The scar looks almost like a starburst." Set in the "flashsideways" timeline. JackXJuliet


**Author notes:** Written for lj lostfichallenge: # 100 season 6 AU_  
spoilers for 6x05: The Lighthouse_  
Title from Kate Havnevik's song "Travel in Time"  
Reviews make me quite happy.

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Jack watches David perform Chopin from the back of the auditorium. His son is so talented. He has never felt more disconnected from his child.

He calls his ex the next morning after David has gone to school. Her secretary, Joanna, answers, then transfers his call. He taps his fingers on the kitchen counter as he holds, listening to "Moonlight Serenade" as he waits for her to answer.

"Jack. David tells me you saw him perform last night." He imagines her with a smirk on her face; he thinks that she must be laughing inside at his disconnect from his own son. But he knows that's not true; she always said that he was good at being a father. It was being a husband that he failed at.

In that instant, he hates her.

He wants a drink.

"Yeah." He sighs and walks over to the liquor cabinet. "Why didn't he tell me, Juliet?"

She doesn't answer-or maybe she does. "He was devastated when you didn't show up at your father's funeral. He just wants you to be proud of him, Jack."

He tries to keep his voice steady and quiet, but he can't stop the tremble of his voice when he tells her, "I _am_ proud of him. I just wish he'd talk to me."

She is silent on the other end of the line. He pulls out the bottle of scotch from the cabinet. The feel of the smooth, cool glass, the weight of the half-empty bottle in his hand soothes his nerves. He takes a deep breath and begins to suggest, "Let's…let's meet up for coffee." At the same time, she speaks. "I have to go."

"Jules." He can't keep the pleading note out of his voice.

"I have to go. Tell David I love him. I'm sorry. Bye, Jack."

He looks at his cell phone; the window reads "Juliet: Call Ended 4 min 8 sec."

He throws the bottle of scotch at the wall. The glass shatters into a thousand tiny pieces, spilling the sweet amber liquid all over the white carpet.

David has another recital three weeks later. Jack and Juliet agree to go together, at David's request. Despite not having had a drink since the flight from Sydney, he feels good. Great, even. He spent the previous night draining every bottle of liquor in the cabinet. He feels a rush of pride when he sees Juliet standing before the empty liquor cabinet. He walks up behind her.

"I haven't had a drink since the flight. I didn't…I don't want to end up like my father."

Before she can respond, David enters the room in his tuxedo, and Juliet rushes over to straighten his bowtie. Jack leaves to start the car. As Jack drives, David and Juliet chatter about school and his practices. Jack can't help but notice that Juliet seems happier than she has been in months.

When they arrive, Jack places a hand at the small of Juliet's back as the usher guides them to their seats. She raises an eyebrow; her icy blue eyes issue a silent but all too clear warning for him not to push his luck tonight. They take their seats. Soon, the recital begins and they watch patiently as other students perform. When David enters from the side of the stage, Juliet squeezes Jack's hand. He holds on. He knows that he is pushing his luck, but to his surprise, she doesn't pull her hand away. David plays the Chopin piece again. Jack wouldn't have thought it possible, but David plays it more beautifully than three weeks earlier. When the performance ends, David stands to take a bow. His shy smile is the same as Juliet's as he is applauded. Jack turns to Juliet and sees that she has tears in her eyes. Without thinking, he presses his lips to hers. She is full of surprises tonight, for she kisses him in return.

The next two hours are a blur for Jack. He can't keep his eyes off of Juliet. Her hand is intertwined with his, pulling him through the crowd to an awkward looking man standing next to David. He shakes hands with David's new piano teacher. "Your son is very talented."

"Thank you…" he begins. Juliet whispers in his ear, "His name is Daniel Faraday."

He clears his throat; Juliet's warm breath on his neck smarts like a brand burned into his skin. "Thank you, Mr. Faraday."

He looks at David, hoping for some cue from his son on whether or not he can hug him. David isn't looking at him, or his mother or teacher. Jack follows David's gaze, which is fixed on his parents' entwined hands.

They eat dinner at David's favorite restaurant. Juliet sits next to David on one side of the booth with Jack across from both. Near the end of their dinner, Juliet slides one stocking clad foot up the inside of Jack's legs, reaching the zipper of his slacks, which she teases at with her toes. The waiter approaches their table.

"Can I interest you in any desert tonight?" the bored young man asks.

Jack tears his eyes away from Juliet, but she answers without missing a beat. "Just the check, please."

They drop David off at his friend Gabe's house after dinner. When he pulls into the driveway and turns off the car, he feels the sudden urge to grab Juliet's purse, find her car keys, and throw them into the bushes. Anything to keep her from leaving him again.

As it turns out, he has nothing to worry about. She leans over the gear stick and wraps her fingers around his neck, pulling him close. She kisses him in the half light of their driveway, then exits the car and leads him to the door.

Once inside, he sheds his tie and pants and begins to unbutton his shirt. She stands before him, shimmying out of her black dress. He practically runs at her, wrapping his arms around her waist as the dress falls to the floor.

"Oh Jules, I've missed you." He kisses her neck. She tastes like her favorite perfume and her familiar shampoo.

She sighs, and whispers, "Promise me. Promise me, Jack."

He lifts her off the ground, and she wraps her long legs around his waist. "I'll take care of you," he growls as he carries her to their bedroom. He places her on the bed and unfastens her bra. "We'll fix this," he whispers as he kisses her breasts and then slides her panties off.

She lies back and pulls him onto the bed. He kisses her again, but she pushes at his chest with her open palm. He willingly falls back onto the mattress and she straddles his hips.

For a moment, she looks pale, nearly translucent in the moonlight, and the tips of her fingers are like icicles on his chest as she shifts above him. He thinks he sees blood on her temple and gasps; _she's dying_. He reaches up to wipe the blood away, but touches only blonde waves. His hand comes away dry, not sticky-wet with blood, and a shudder travels down his spine at the thought of his wife, cold and dead in his arms. But then her sure, steady hand guides him inside and her hand is warm and she is hot around him and very, very much alive as she rocks above him.

They fall asleep like they used to, Juliet wrapped in his arms. In the middle of the night he hears her leave the bed. He too gets up to use the bathroom. When she returns, she is holding the clothes they shed downstairs. She drops them into the laundry basket and sits on the edge of the bed. In the sliver of light from the bathroom, Jack sees something on Juliet's back, and grasps her sides to stop her from moving.

He traces his fingers over a scar on her lower back. The scar looks almost like a starburst.

"When did you get this?" Jack asks as he examines her back.

Juliet turns to look at Jack with a look of puzzlement on her face. "What?"

"This scar?"

"I've had that scar since I was fifteen, Jack. You know that."

Jack could swear that he'd never seen that scar on his wife's back until that moment. He loosens his grip on her sides, and she crawls back under the covers.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm just tired," Jack answers. But he feels a twinge in his abdomen, and he finds his hand drawn to his appendectomy scar.

Juliet touches his upper lip. "Jack, your nose is bleeding."

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End file.
